This is the eighth all-time meeting between Florida State and UCF. The Seminoles lead the series 5-2 and have won five of the last six since losing the first ever meeting between the schools in 1998. Last season Florida State recorded its third shutout in the series when the Seminoles defeated the Knights 3-0 in a driving Orlando rain. There have been four shutouts in the series with UCF’s only clean sheet coming in the first meeting in 1998, a 1-0 win. There has never been an FSU shutout in the series in an even numbered year and every time the teams have played this decade in an odd numbered year the Golden Knights have been unable to score. Florida State recorded clean sheets in 2001, 2003 and 2005 but allowed at least one goal in 2000, 2002 and 2004. The Golden Knights have allowed at least two goals to FSU in each of the last six meetings as FSU has averaged over three goals a game in the span. This decade the only time the Knights have held Florida State below three goals was in 2004. That year FSU scored twice versus UCF in Tallahassee. This is the first time UCF has been back to Tallahassee since that game when they stunned FSU defeating the Seminoles 3-2. That season FSU was on a 5-0-1 run before losing to UNC and then UCF in the final regular season game of the year. Even worse then losing the final regular season game of 2004 was the way FSU lost the match. The Seminoles blew a 2-0 halftime lead and gave up the game-winning goal to UCF with just 45 seconds remaining in the match marking the last time FSU lost a non-conference match at home. Last season it was FSU’s two All-Americans that had big days versus the Knights. Sel Kuralay had two goals and an assist and India Trotter had a goal and an assist. Ali Mims recorded the shutout as she increased her shutout streak to 155:33 in her career versus UCF.

NIFTY FIFTY

Florida State has scored 19 goals in its seven meetings with UCF and has at least one goal in six straight games after being shutout in the first meeting of the series in 1998. The odd thing about Florida State’s goals versus the Knights is when they have come. The Seminoles have scored 14 of their 19 goals in the first 50 minutes of the game. That’s 74% of all FSU goals in the series coming in the first 50:09 of games. While about half of FSU’s all-time goals have been in the first half of games versus the Golden Knights (10 of 19) that number jumps to 14 when you go into the first 5:09 of the second half. That trend will be clashing with the Seminoles trend of scoring late goals in 2006. Of FSU’s seven goals in 2006, only two have come in the first half of games and none in the first 30:00 of any game. On the flip side, UCF has scored six all-time goals versus Florida State and none this decade have been scored in the first half.

12 PACK

With three weeks in the books, the 2006 soccer season is as unpredictable as ever. There have already been a handful of big upsets and tons of top 25 teams losing but the Seminoles are one of the few teams that have avoided the upset bug so far. Florida State is the only team that played in the 2005 College Cup that has not lost a game as of yet while the other three schools have already combined for five losses. In the early part of the season very few of soccer’s traditional powers have made it through the first three weeks unscathed. Florida State is one of just 12 teams that are still perfect and one of just five schools from a major conference that have won every game. Florida State (4-0), Notre Dame (6-0), West Virginia (6-0), Villanova (7-0) and Missouri (6-0) are the only schools that play in a major conference that are undefeated just three weeks into the year. Five other schools are undefeated but tied once. Of the 12 teams that have yet to lose a game this season, only four schools besides FSU have a win over a ranked team.

UNDEFEATED TEAMS

Villanova 7-0-0

Central Michigan 6-0-0

Missouri 6-0-0

Navy 6-0-0

Notre Dame 6-0-0

Old Dominion 6-0-0

West Virginia 6-0-0

Akron 5-0-0

Manhattan 5-0-0

Florida State 4-0-0

Mississippi Valley St 4-0-0

Jackson State 3-0-0

Delaware 5-0-1

NC State 5-0-1

Pacific 5-0-1

Rice 5-0-1

Nevada 4-0-1

St. John’s 4-0-1

DOWN GOES ANOTHER ONE

Although Florida was not ranked in the NSCAA poll when the Gators faced off with Florida State this past Friday, UF was ranked in all three of soccer’s other polls.

With FSU’s 1-0 win over the Gators, it was the second win over a top 25 team for the Seminoles this year in four games. Beating ranked opponents is nothing new for Florida State this decade but even more so under second year head coach Mark Krikorian. In his 29 games as FSU’s coach, Krikorian has already recorded 10 wins over ranked opponents. Of Krikorian’s 24 victories at Florida State, 42% have come against ranked teams. Half of those victories over ranked teams have been wins over teams in the top 10 of a poll at the time of the game. In the first 10 years and 206 games of FSU soccer history, the Seminoles recorded seven wins over top 10 teams but in just 29 games Krikorian’s teams have already recorded five. That translates to a win over a top 10 win just once in every 30 games before Krikorian’s arrival compared to one top 10 win per every three games he has coached.

ONE TEAM, ONE GOAL

It is hard not to draw comparisons between the starts of the 2005 and 2006 seasons for the Florida State soccer team. Both squads started 4-0, both had a big win over a ranked team on opening day and both got a win in September versus a ranked Gator team. Probably the biggest similarity though is the way Florida State continues to perform in close games. With a 1-0 win over Florida in their last game,

the Seminoles improved to 8-1 under head coach Mark Krikorian in one-goal games. Three of Florida State’s four wins in 2006 have been in one-goal games and the team’s only other win came in a two-goal game. The Seminoles resiliency in close games has become a hallmark under Krikorian with 33% of his 24 FSU victories coming by one goal. While that number is well below the 47% of FSU’s wins that came in one-goal games before his arrival, the more telling number is winning percentage in close games. Krikorian has won 89% of his one-goal games as FSU coach while the Seminole program had 58% of its wins come in one-goal games in program history before his arrival.

NO SHOT

Another trademark of the Seminoles under head coach Mark Krikorian has been the defense. While it is offensive stars like Selin Kuralay and India Trotter that garner the headlines, and deservedly so, it is the FSU defense that has been stellar the last two seasons. With Florida State’s shutout of the Gators Friday,

the Seminoles have recorded 13 shutouts in 29 games under Krikorian giving FSU a shutout in 45% of its games since the new coach took over last year. Before Krikorian’s arrival the Seminoles recorded shutouts in 24% of the games in program history. Surprisingly, FSU has won every game under Krikorian when they have shutout the opponent meaning the team has never been involved in a 0-0 tie the last two seasons. One of the reasons for the increased shutouts is the Seminole defense just does not allow shots to their opponents. Last season FSU allowed the fewest shots ever in a season. The 2005 Seminoles allowed 225 shots in 25 games. The previous record was 226 but that came in just a 21 game season. This year teams are averaging just over 10 shots per game just one shot above last season’s record pace. The 2005 team was the first in school history to ever allow fewer than 10 shots per contest. Even more important is the amount of shots that are put on frame and the Seminole defense is doing a brilliant job of helping keeper Ali Mims when it comes to forcing the senior to make saves. FSU has allowed just two goals this season and just over an average of three shots on goal per game. That is even better than the 2005 team that allowed just over 4 SOG/game. The record for the fewest SOG in a season was set by the 2004 team that allowed just 94. The record for SOG/game was set by last year’s team which allowed just 4.32 per match. The amount of shots on goal allowed is a big deal because of its obvious correlation to goals allowed. Each season since 2000 in which FSU has allowed fewer than five SOG/game, the team’s GAA has been at 1.05 or less.

Season SOG SOG/gm GA GA/gm

2006 14 3.5 2 0.50

2005 108 4.32 22 0.88

2004 94 4.70 21 1.02

2003 121 4.65 28 1.05

2002 143 6.22 31 1.55

2001 168 7.00 33 1.60

2000 151 6.30 31 1.23

GOING FOR ANOTHER RECORD

The Mark Krikorian era at Florida State got off to a record start in 2005. The Seminole boss led his new team to seven straight victories to open his Florida State career. That was the best winning streak ever at FSU to start a season and at that point the longest winning streak in school history. Krikorian later broke that record when he led the Seminoles to nine straight wins giving the FSU coach the two longest win streaks in school history. Krikorian now owns the two longest win streaks in another category as well. With the victory over the Gators,

Krikorian now has the two longest win streaks to start a season as well with seven in 2005 and now four in 2006. Last season the seven-game win streak came to an end at home versus Carolina. This year if Krikorian is to match his record start from last season he will not only need to beat UCF and Florida Atlantic but he will also need to go to Carolina and beat the team that ended last year’s run.

WIN STREAKS TO START A SEASON

2005 7

2006 4

2004 3

2000 3

HERE THEY COME

Florida State’s win over Florida this past Friday was pretty amazing for a few reasons but mostly due to the amazing turnout of the Tallahassee community.

The Seminoles downed their rivals in front of a record crowd of 4,582, shattering the previous record of 1,912 by 2,670. The crowd was over 3,000 above the listed capacity of the Seminole Soccer Complex as fans packed every inch of open space on the hills, in the stands, behind the street side goal and all along the floors of the parking garage adjacent to the field. The crowd wasn’t just impressive for Florida State. It was the second-largest crowd to ever watch an FSU/UF game and the 21st-largest regular season crowd in the history of NCAA women’s soccer. The number of fans that came to Friday night’s game is staggering when you compare it to some other crowd statistics at FSU. The 4,582 fans that came to that one game were more than showed up to watch the Seminoles in four entire seasons. In 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001, FSU drew fewer than 4,582 fans for the entire campaign at home. It was also just 17 fewer fans than watched 11 FSU home games in 1998. The 6,207 fans that have come to watch the first two home games of 2006 are more fans than FSU drew in six separate seasons. The Seminoles played in front of 1,625 fans to open the season versus defending National Champion Portland, which was the second-largest crowd ever at FSU until the Gator game. Now the Seminoles have drawn two of the three largest crowds in school history in just the first two games of the year. That has come to be expected with the success of the program since 2000 but the increase in fan support has really shown itself the last two seasons. For the first time ever FSU drew over 1,000 fans for a day game last season when 1,360 showed up to watch the Seminoles and BC Eagles. The Portland crowd shattered that record. Combined with the huge crowd for the Florida game, FSU played in front of back-to-back home crowds of over 1,000 fans for the first time in school history. The support for the program that has built over the past six years is pretty amazing. Florida State has now been among the nation’s attendance leaders for six straight years and four of the top seven all-time crowds at FSU have now been established in just the last two seasons.

HOME ATTENDANCE

Season Games Att Att/Gm Rank

2006 2 6207 3104 6

th

1996 10 5106 511 7

th

1998 11 4598 418 8

th

2000 8 4515 564 9

th

1997 6 3064 511 10

th

1995 5 2922 584 11

th

CAN’T FIND A KURE

While it may be a new season, not much has changed when it comes to pre-season All-American and Hermann Trophy candidate Selin Kuralay. The junior from Australia has picked up right where she left off when it comes to scoring goals. The forward already has three goals on the season scoring in 75% of Florida State’s matches this year. Last season she had a monster year earning Soccer America team MVP honors and All-American accolades as she scored 16 goals and piled up 41 points. Now a junior and just 28 games into her career, Kuralay is already climbing up the career record charts at FSU. The forward is already seventh all-time in points and fifth in career goals. She is having an even bigger impact when it comes to game-winners. For the second time this season Kuralay netted a game-winning goal in a 1-0 game when she beat the Gators Friday night. Kuralay is already tied for third all-time in game winners and is just three away from moving into a tie for first. As amazing as those numbers are you really can’t appreciate how amazing Kuralay has been until you look at her numbers from a per game perspective since she has played just over a season. The Australian leads FSU in goals per game, points per game and game-winning goals per game for a career. She is the only player ever to wear the Garnet and Gold who has averaged more than 1.5 points per game, .55 goals per game and more than .25 game-winning goals per game for her career. While Kuralay is a little behind last season’s pace when she had five goals in the first four games, she is making her influence felt in a higher percentage of games so far. As mentioned above, Kuralay has scored in 75% of this year’s games which is better than the 54% of matches she scored in last season, which was the highest single season percentage in the history of FSU soccer.

While you can’t afford to dwell on the past in collegiate athletics, whether it’s a win or a loss you are dwelling on, those of us at Florida State would be remiss if we didn’t at least pause for a second and look back at the win over the rival Gators. Anytime FSU is able to get a win over Florida it is huge because not only are the Gators a big rival but they are perennially one of the best teams in America. Friday night’s victory over UF was special for a few reasons. First, the Seminoles recorded their sixth win in the last nine series meetings after starting out the soccer rivalry 0-5. Florida State has done a remarkable job closing series deficits with the best teams on their schedule over the past seven seasons. FSU has seen its series with Clemson, Maryland and NC State swing from lopsided conference rivalries to either being dead even or FSU moving in front. That has been the case with the Gators as well as the series record has gone from 0-5 to 6-8 since 2000. The second reason Friday night was special was because the Seminoles recorded they first ever shutout of the Gators in 14 career meetings. The blanking raised the Seminoles shutout streak against the Gators to 150:50, easily a school record versus UF. Just as it has done in the series record, Florida State has continually done a better job of controlling the UF offense as the rivalry has matured. After allowing an average of four goals per game in the first five matches versus Florida, the Seminoles have held the Gators to an average of 1.4 goals per game in the last nine meetings. On an individual level the game was special for Selin Kuralay. The junior’s 30 yard goal to the back post was her third of the season and second game-winner. Combined with her two goals versus the Gators in 2005, Kuralay is now tied with Jez Ratliff for the most goals ever scored by a Seminole in her career versus the University of Florida. Last and not least was obviously the 4,582 Seminole fans that came out to see the big victory.

FINAL COUNTDOWN

The Ali Mims story is pretty well known by people who follow Florida State soccer. The sixth-year senior has been through more than 20 surgical procedures for a leg fracture that not only almost cost Mims her career but at one point complications from the surgeries seriously compromised her health. That’s why every time she takes the field and every time she passes another record, it is an accomplishment everyone in the Florida State family shares with her. Versus Florida Mims kept up her pursuit of becoming the record holder in every statistical category in FSU soccer history. With her clean sheet versus the Gators Mims became the only Seminole goalie to ever post a shutout versus UF and she upped her career shutout total to 11. Mims is now just two clean sheets away from tying Joy McKenzie and Melissa Juhl for the career mark. What’s most amazing about Mims’ shutout record is that she has been a part of eight other shutouts where she was either pulled late for a back-up keeper or played half the game when splitting time with another FSU goalie. Mims already owns the career record for wins at 32 but now she is closing in on moving into second place all-time for minutes played. After the Florida game, Mims has now been in the net for 3931 minutes. If Mims plays 85 minutes versus UCF Wednesday, she will pass McKenzie and jump to second for the most minutes by a Seminole keeper. Mims has a few other records she is pursuing. Entering the game with the Golden Knights she is sporting an amazing 0.50 GAA. Last season she established a single season record for GAA at 0.90 and obviously is ahead of that pace to establish a new FSU best. She is also fighting to set the new career mark for GAA. Mims currently has a lifetime GAA of 1.05, which is now .01 ahead of McKenzie’s career mark. The Ponte Vedra, FL native has also done something only one other FSU keeper has ever done and that is start a game in goal in four seasons as a Seminole.